Dr. Robert Liu to speak at Downtown Speakers Program on August 12th

HONOLULU — The Colleges of Arts & Sciences of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa continue their Downtown Speakers Program with a lecture on August 12, 2004 by Dr. Robert Liu, professor of Chemistry. This free talk will be held from noon to 1 p.m. at the American Savings Bank Tower, 1001 Bishop Street, 8th floor, room 805. It is a brown-bag event so attendees are invited to bring their lunches.

After more than three decades of research in Vitamin A and the visual pigment rhodopsin, Liu can now look back and attempt to find a plausible scientific answer to such questions that faced him during his childhood years in Shanghai, China. In the process, he will also discuss possible ways of improving our vision, attenuating color sensation, and photo sensitivity. In other words, can we improve our eyesight beyond the highest quality of camera film — ASA 800?

Liu received his PhD degree from California Institute of Technology. After four years as a research chemist at duPont, he joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Hawaiʻi in 1968. He has been named an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow, and received the University of Hawai'i‘s Regents‘ medals for excellence in research and in teaching.

For more information, please call the Office of Community and Alumni Relations, Colleges of Arts & Sciences, 956-5790.

Upcoming Downtown Speakers Program Events:

September 16, 2004 — "The End of Politics" Dr. Jon Goldberg-Hiller, Professor of Political Science

Recent political discourse has been notable not just for its nastiness but the belief on the part of parties and many opponents that their challengers lack the requisite ethics and honesty compatible with democratic politics. In this talk and discussion, the importance of these perceptions for the nation and Hawai'i and the means of understanding the harsh winds of contemporary political language will be addressed. Topics related to commitment to democratic process and a viable public sphere demands from us all will also be discussed.